Some of the roughly 240 hostages kidnapped by the Palestinian militants could be released “very soon,” the US president has said
A Qatari-mediated agreement to release some of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas militants is “very close,” US President Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday. Over the previous 24 hours, Israeli, American, and Palestinian sources have all suggested that a deal is at hand.
Hamas fighters took around 240 hostages to Gaza during their October 7 assault on Israel, and have since released only four of these captives. The welfare of the hostages has been a major concern for the Israeli public, who fear that the captives may be harmed during the Israel Defense Forces’ ongoing air and ground operation in the enclave, or executed in response to the Israeli attacks.
Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, Biden said that ongoing talks to free these hostages may soon pay off.
“We are now very close, very close,” he said. “We could bring some of these hostages home very soon, but I don’t want to get into the details of things because nothing is done until it’s done.”
“We’ve been working on this intensively for weeks as you all know,” Biden continued, adding that US officials have “been in the region shuttling between capitals.”
“Things are looking good at the moment,” Biden concluded.
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